Friday, July 15, 2011

FBFF: I'm a WHAT?!

If you've seen the Friend Friday posts but aren't quite sure what they're about, click here to read all about it and here to meet Katy, the creator!

Katy wrote a post last week about labels and decided to use that as the topic for this week's questions, too.

1. As a someone who writes/blogs about fashion, have you placed yourself into some sort of blogging category?Absolutely. There are some blogs that write about high fashion, some about thrifting, some about DIY projects...I write about my daily outfits that are most definitely NOT high fashion. Honestly, I don't even know the names of most of the popular designers. I just don't keep up with fashion news, really. I like what I like, I'm inspired by other style bloggers, and I don't feel a need to surround myself with designer ideals. So, that being said, I feel that I've placed myself in the outfit-of-the-day, professional working mom style blogger category.

2. What keeps you from or encourages you to label yourself as a certain kind of blogger?I guess the feeling that I need to make sure I blog in a certain niche. That's the advice you'll hear from most pro-bloggers, that you have to define your niche so that you can find your readers.

3. When picking blogs to read and follow are you drawn to ones that indicate a certain group or way of thinking/being?I'm drawn to the ones who blog similarly to the way I do, with daily outfit photos, but I really love the witty and encouraging blogs. I've stopped following blogs when the writer constantly berates themselves and doesn't seem to really enjoy writing or have any happiness in what they're writing about.

4. Do you think there are benefits in labeling yourself or others?I think there's a benefit to labeling blogs, because it helps people to find the subjects that interest them the most. Even labeling a blog as fashion and beauty is too broad. It does help to have more clear, concise labels for writing style and subject matter.

5. Agree or Disagree - We're all just people; we don't need all the labels.Now with people, I really don't think we need labels. There are too many possible labels, too many emotions, too many moods, too many variables to label a person as any one thing, or even several things. People are people, and that's the only label they need.

19 comments:

Excellent answers & a really interesting read. And I guess your right about the niche thing, never really thought about it too much. Hope to put my answers up later ... I'm currently being lazy as it's too cold to do anything else. Have a good weekend.

Very mature answers, Melissa, and I agree...I was taught that the niche is your target audience and that is how I looked at it. People would laugh if they came to me for high fashion looks in their 20s!!!

I don't know if I have a label for my blog either, but I keep it fairly simple, daily outfits (def NOT high fashion, haha) and some misc. rants. I may post an odd recipe now and again. I guess I'm still trying to find my "niche!"

I love reading your posts - I am not sure I could label your blog, but I feel like you've settled in with you audience nicely. It is definitely fashion-y and style-y, but in a reachable realistic way!

I guess I've had a problem labeling myself. I don't really fit into "work", "mom", "goth", or even "high fashion". I am what I am.

As I responded to another bloggers post (I think on Modly Chic), there is a great quote by Ludwig Wittgenstein, "The Limits of my Langauge are the Limits of my Mind; All I know is what I have Words for." Labels are positive in that they give us parameters to discuss ideas that would otherwise be impossible to convey. It can hurt to boil something down to a label, but we need to recognize that while labels may define a person, it does not define their whole being.

This is such a thought-provoking post, Melissa. I think you have done a great job identifying a niche that is authentic, and creating a blogging "voice" that is relatable and interesting

I've often felt conflicted about how I would label myself as a blogger. I certainly focus on thrifted discounted items, but I also like to throw in designer items that I occasionally splurge on (especially because I want to make sure I get enough use out of them, if I've forked over the moolah). My blog title doesn't incorporate that second aspect, but I really want to figure out a way to make sure it doesn't seem like I'm trying to pass off a $100 purse or pair of shoes as cheap...

it's hard to avoid labels. i mean, i'm always the mom or the wife, etc. people automatically label you when they meet you, sometimes just to remember who you are and sometimes it's a little bit of judgment. i dunno, i don't think it's a huge deal in real life, though it's nice if they get to know you first before labeling. but i do like what you said about blogging and the necessity of labeling there!